Editor's note: Last year, we ran a special series leading up to the NFL Draft looking back at the five best and five worst draft classes the Dallas Cowboys have had under Jerry Jones' ownership. We're revisiting that series now with...

Worst class No. 3: 2001There was no
second-guessing. Analysts criticized the pick from the very beginning.
But Cowboys owner Jerry Jones defended the choice of Quincy Carter, the
first quarterback chosen by Dallas in the first two rounds since Steve
Walsh was acquired in the 1989 supplemental draft.

"We want a perception among the team and the fans that we have a player that gives us a chance to win it all," Jones said.

Three
years later, the Cowboys waived Carter, a player whose career was
derailed by substance-abuse problems. Carter's sudden demise tainted the
2001 draft class, which had already been dismissed as a bad bunch. But
as disappointing as his tenure in Dallas was, Carter still started more
games for the Cowboys - 31 - than any other player drafted that year.

He also made a greater impact.

The
Cowboys' other second-round pick, safety Tony Dixon, hauled in only one
interception in four seasons with Dallas and never proved to be a
particularly effective run defender. Defensive tackle Willie Blade had
three different stints with the Cowboys, but a questionable work ethic
rendered him a non-factor. And linebacker Markus Steele was gradually
demoted to a special teams role until he was deemed expendable three
years after he was drafted.

The only player judged to have surpassed expectations was Matt Lehr, an interior lineman who started 16 games at center in 2003.

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